Asian Para Games: Mona Agarwal wins gold, Avani Lekhara silver in shooting

India began its medal campaign at the Asian Para Games with a gold-silver double in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event, as Mona Agarwal and Avani Lekhara finished first and second in Toyota on Monday.

Mona secured the gold with 250 points, setting a new Asian Para Games record, while Avani followed closely with 249.6 to claim silver. South Korea’s Yunri Lee took bronze with 227.9 points.

Mona’s victory came after a strong recovery in the final, where she climbed from fifth place to take the lead and hold off her competitors. Her winning score surpassed the previous Games record of 249.6 set by Avani at Hangzhou, though it fell short of the world record of 252.

Both Indians had also dominated the qualification round. Mona topped the standings with 629.1 points, setting a new Asian Para Games qualification record and narrowly missing the world mark of 629.4. Avani qualified second with 626.4, giving India the top two positions heading into the final.

The result also secured Avani a quota place for the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. Mona had already earned her spot at the World Shooting Para Sport Championships in Changwon last month.

Mona won bronze at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, while Avani is a three-time Paralympic medallist, including two golds across the Tokyo and Paris Games.

With IANS inputs